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Lukas the Trickster
Lukas the Trickster, also known as Lukas Strifeson, is an Astartes of the Space Wolves Chapter of Space Marines, a raucous and ebullient figure who defies the authority of his superiors just as willingly as he defies the enemies of the Chapter. The glories sought by other warriors of the Chapter matter not one jot to Lukas, who cares neither for advancement to the Wolf Guard, nor for the approval of his peers. Instead, his greatest desire is the freedom to work his unparalleled mischief upon whomever he fancies, preferably killing as many of the Chapter's foes as he can along the way. History Within the ranks of the Space Wolves, Lukas Strifeson has become synonymous with the irreverence and rebelliousness of youth. Held in universal scorn by the Wolf Lords, Lukas has never left the ranks of the Blood Claws despite his possession of abilities far exceeding many a Wolf Guard, for he scorns the approval of authority. Lukas has been passed between different Great Companies countless times, no Wolf Lord wanting to be responsible for such a liability, but he is undeniably one of his Chapter's most resourceful and cunning individuals, and so is always welcomed amongst the ranks of the Blood Claws of his most recent adoptive Great Company. Lukas has wrought countless acts of singular cunning upon the enemy, such as leading a sizable Ork WAAAGH! to degenerate into a self-destructive civil war, causing the dark technologies of a rogue sect of the Adeptus Mechanicus to turn against their creators and orchestrating the downfall of hundreds of Renegade Space Marines within the Sea of Lost Souls. In short, Lukas is anarchic and brave in equal measure. It is unsurprising that his many detractors have dubbed him "the Trickster," alongside his other epithets "the Strifeson," "the Laughing One" and "the Jackalwolf." And yet, in spite of all of this, he is popular within a certain swathe of the Chapter's membership. The Blood Claws salute his antics, both before and after his initiation amongst the Space Wolves, whilst the leadership of the Chapter recognises him as a free spirit, the very embodiment of the Chapter's independent and anti-authoritarian nature. Recently in 990.M41, Lukas roused the volcanic wrath of Bjorn Stormwolf by soiling the Wolf Lord's Terminator Armour with a swarm of microscopic bloodlice. Bristling with indignation -- and no small amount of uncontrollable itching -- Stormwolf battered the sniggering Jackalwolf unconscious. Fortunately for the Blood Claw, Ragnar Blackmane interceded before the giant could land a finishing blow, claiming the mischievous warrior for his own Great Company and, in doing so, saving Lukas' life. While Lukas remains forever the irreverent upstart, he will never achieve advancement within the Chapter and will remain forever a Blood Claw. Such a sentence suits him well though, for Lukas enjoys their company far better than that of the stuffy, level-headed senior members of the Chapter, whose concerns are musty old sagas and the study of ancient battle doctrine. So effective is he in battle that Lukas has only been bested once -- after an abortive attempt to cripple the flagship of Duke Sliscus of the Drukhari, he was set adrift in space, his Secondary Heart taken as a souvenir by those insidious xenos. Surviving the ordeal as only a Space Marine could, Lukas had a Stasis Grenade wired in place of his secondary heart so that, when his primary heart finally stops beating, he and the one who bested him will be frozen in time as an eternal monument to his own glory. Lukas' inventive solutions are not confined solely to the enemies of the Imperium. He has had something of a cult following amongst the Blood Claws since he "accidentally" locked an Inquisitorial genotax delegation in a Grox breeding pen whilst the creatures were in season, and he risked death by flogging when he spiked the ale of the arrogant Wolf Lord Hrothgar with the concentrated venom of a bloat-toad. Though he would never betray his brothers in times of need, Lukas thinks nothing of turning his enemy's strength against them. Even unarmed Lukas is the dirtiest fighter in the Chapter, but when equipped with his personalised Wolf Claw and Plasma Pistol, the Trickster is a fearsome foe indeed. In battle or friendly scrums, opponents attempting to strike Lukas find it difficult to land a telling blow. This is partly due to his taunts -- his rude gestures transcend all languages -- but even more so due to his pelt. The hide was taken from a chameleonic doppegangrel, and the shimmering conflicting images that blur before an enemy are confusing in the extreme. Endlessly spiteful, Lukas does not forget a slight, and repays what he sees as wanton authority with clever and humiliating pranks. To truly cross his path or cause he or his brothers actual harm is to invite an unusual and painful death. The False Duel While most of the Space Wolves Companies were fighting across the Imperium, Lukas Strifeson, as the senior Blood Claw, was left on The Fang with the rest of the Chapter's youngsters. A feast of Lukas and the others was interrupted by a horrific message brought by an unknown Blood Claw, who explained that the Forces of Chaos had made a Vox-contact with The Fang and were threatening to bombard the Space Wolves' fortress-monastery from orbit. Lukas, though slow to react due to being drunk, received the Blood Claw's message and calmed the tension in the Great Hall, answering the call of the servant of Chaos through the vox-transmission. The voice on the other side introduced himself as Chaos Lord Moefranc of the Word Bearers, a prideful and zealous figure who claimed to have slain dozens of Space Wolves and a Wolf Lord named Hrothgar. Moefranc vowed to destroy the Space Wolves by bombing the Fang from orbit. Lukas, known for his trickery, called on the Chaos Lord's cowardice and challenged Moefranc to a duel with their Honour Guard on open ground on Fenris. The challenge was accepted and Lukas transferred the data of the meeting area to Moefranc's Cogitator-system as he deactivated the systems of the orbital defences. As soon as the transmission was over, Lukas left the Vox-caster and proceed with drinking. The Space Wolves around Lukas were confused and sought the guidance of the Jackalwolf following the necessary arrangements for the duel. Laying down on the bench with one eye opened, Lukas explained that the Corsair-grade data corrupter that was sent to Moefranc's ship bore false topography of Fenris, along with coordinates for the very middle of the Sea of Lost Souls. Lukas continued explaining that the ice of the sea is very thin, and during the summer the ice is even thinner. Little did Lord Moefranc know that he and his Great Host were sent by Lukas to meet their frozen demise... The Assault on Pollux Tertius During his tenure under the command of Wolf Lord Kjarl Grimblood, Lukas was tasked with single-handedly assaulting an orbital Vox relay station at Pollix Tertius to pave the way for the Great Company's invasion of that Industrial World from the taint of an Ork invasion. The task had been given to the Trickster because he had angered his current Wolf Lord and Grimblood used this order to make sure that Lukas would not be present when he and the Space Marines under his command assaulted the planet and annihilated the xenos. In this way, Grimblood could deny the Jackalwolf a share in the glory. Grimblood had thought it a fitting idea to leave the Trickster stranded on that orbital station until retrieved by a gunship. Unbeknownst to the Wolf Lord, however, Lukas was somewhat familiar with the Ork language, limited and curse-filled as it may be, and he was sitting on a communication array with access to every Ork boss on the planet. Using his knowledge of the Ork language, Lukas set about stoking the fires of the natural rage of the Greenskins. In fact, he proved so successful that he made the Orks turn on one another and engage their erstwhile comrades in battle. This infighting among the Orks greatly diminished the Greenskin hordes before Grimblood and his Great Company could even make planetfall. As a result, the campaign was made a success not by the virtue of arms but by the cunning of the Trickster. Wargear and a Wolf Claw called the Claw of the Jackalwolf]] *'Power Armour' *'Plasma Pistol' *'Frag Grenades' *'Krak Grenades' *''Claw of the Jackalwolf'' *''Pelt of the Doppelgangrel'' - Lukas is the only man known to have hunted down and slain a chameleonic Doppelgangrel native to the world of Fenris. He proudly wears the chameleonic pelt as a prize, and benefits from the conflicting, shimmering images it produces, making it virtually impossible for foes to land a telling blow. Sources *''Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Wolves'' (8th Edition), pp. 37, 99 *''Codex: Space Wolves'' (7th Edition), pg. 68, 134-136 *''Codex: Space Wolves'' (5th Edition), pp. 21, 52 *''Jackalwolf'' (Short Story) By C.Z. Dunn *''Lukas the Trickster'' (Novel) by Josh Reynolds, Ch. 6 *''The Art of Provocation'' (Audio Drama) by Josh Reynolds es:Lukas el Tramposo Category:L Category:Characters Category:Imperial Characters Category:Imperium Category:Space Marines Category:Space Wolves